Based on her photos, this sweet 8 year old always seems on the shy side. I’d love to get to meet her and give her lots of hugs and encouragement in person. Jenny lives with her mom and 8 siblings, so I’m SO happy that she was able to receive new shoes and a backpack, even including a doll! Since this center opened well after the backpack submission date, I actually didn’t pack hers, but rather some generous sponsors donated everything for all of the children of Quelacasque!

El Tablon is the feeding center with Manna for Lempira that I have the most sponsored children with. I am so tempted to sponsor another one or two specific children there that are calling to my heart, but since visiting Honduras with Manna may now be a very real possibility this summer, I’m conflicted about whether it may be too many children at one center…

Maria is 12 and my oldest Manna child. With each new profile she still says she wants to be a doctor, and I really think she can do it.

I love how it looks like she’s laughing about something. I just love this girl!

Every time that I see new photos of Cristian means that he’s still in school, which is such a huge relief to me. His older brother stopped attending school to work, so I’m always worried that there’s that possibility with him. And I lost one of my other children, Deilin, because she stopped attending school. Going to school is a requirement to stay enrolled in the Manna program. I recently wrote to Cristian (and all of my older kids), about how many more opportunities are available as a result of staying in school, encouraging them to do so. I want the best life possible for him and each of them.

11 year old Cristian is growing up fast and I think he looks even older than he is in this photo!

Yeyson and Greysi are the set of siblings that I sponsor. I couldn’t bare to only choose one, as I fell in love with both of them. 9 year old Yeyson always looks so kind and gentle.

The extra photo of him with the huge smile after receiving his backpack makes me SO happy! The letters for the children at Yeyson and Greysi’s church had to be distributed on a separate day, which means I got to see a photo of him wearing one of the shirts I sent him (the green one). It looks great!

And then there’s 3 year old Greysi, the little sister of Yeyson. This girl is absolutely precious.

In the photo of her with the letter, she is wearing a dress I sent her! I just love seeing this on her and fitting her well, because I was so excited when I found it while backpack shopping!

The next new Manna 4 Lempira photos I’m sharing are of my children who attend the Mi Betania feeding center in rural Honduras.

First is Junior, who I’ve had as a correspondent for over a year and a half, and I have never seen this boy without a smile. He is just amazing!

I was blessed with some extra photos of my 9 year old Junior. I love getting to see him open his backpack! Two of the other boys in his very large family happen to be sponsored by the family who runs the Manna program. I didn’t know this until after I chose him, and it has often meant extra photos, which I happily treasure!

Next is beautiful Heidy, my first Manna child. This newly 12 year old girl has my heart.

Her confidence in that smile and pose mean the world to me. Last year, the barbie doll was definitely her favorite of the things I sent her. This year I picked out an Anna from Frozen barbie, because I know she is an Anna fan!

And then there’s Diego, a more recently sponsored child and one I actually have the fewest pictures of. I was so eager to see new pictures of him, and these certainly did not disappoint!

Diego is 5 and so stinkin’ cute. I hope he loves the soccer ball. He had been waiting a long time for a sponsor when I chose him, so to see him with my letter and the backpack I sent him makes me very happy. Plus he’s wearing yellow and a dinosaur! Clearly we’re meant to be connected! 🙂

Last month, the Manna 4 Lempira team visited Honduras to distribute backpacks, shoes, and letters to the children. All of the photos are now posted, and it’s such a joy to see these children with the items I lovingly picked out and packed for them!! I’m going to post the pictures by center, so first up is my children who attend the Mercedes feeding center.

Here is Brayan, who is still sticking with the grumpy photo face… It’s his signature! 🙂

Brayan just turned 5 this month, and I will have sponsored him for 2 years this spring!

Next is Ludvi, who I started sponsoring over the summer when my previous child, Deilin, left the program. She is 9 years old.

I just love how she’s beaming with the gift of her backpack!! Ludvi lives with her unemployed mother and 9 siblings, so she has very little. I was so excited to treat her and give her special things to call her own!

And finally is little Velery, who is one of my more recently sponsored Manna children. I fell in love with her spunk in her photos and video, and she’s still letting it shine through!

Velery is 3 and she just couldn’t be any cuter! Those curls are precious, and I love the dress. She seems to be happy with her baby doll!

The family that runs Manna 4 Lempira just spent a week in Honduras visiting the children and distributing the backpacks that we sent. Each day, photos were posted of the kids, and I’d eagerly go in to look in the hopes of getting a glimpse of my kids. But they were never in any of the pictures posted. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed as others got to see multiple pictures of their sponsored kids. I know, though, that I will get official pictures once they are posted, and I still enjoyed seeing the pictures of the other happy kids, thinking that mine must be smiling too.

But then, at a moment where I really needed it, I got a message sent from Manna 4 Lempira, and it was a video from Jenny for me! Jenny is my most recently sponsored child through Manna 4 Lempira, and she is part of the new program that just opened: Quelacasque. During this visit, these children learned they had sponsored, got little bios on us with photos, and received their first backpacks and pair of shoes. Seeing Jenny’s smile and hearing her say my name means the world to me. I’m so grateful for this gift!!

Maria is 12 and lives in the El Tablon community of Lempira, Honduras.

“Hello godmother! I am greeting you with much caring. I am praying that God will help you and bless you a lot, because I am very thankful for the things that you sent me. This trip that you made to Guatemala, I am praying every day that this trip was safe. I really like the photo that you sent me and the princesses. I like them a lot. With much caring I hope you are healthy. I was sick and I asked God and he took away my cough. For this I am thankful, that God made me well. They took my sister to the hospital but she is home now. I rejoice because she is home and thanks to God all is well. I am glad that you help me with school supplies so that I am able to study. Thanks for all.”

I find it amazing that she was praying for my safety everyday in my travels with everything she has going on. And I think it’s adorable that she wanted to tell me how God healed her cough.

This letter, written by Velery’s mom before she had a sponsor, really tugs at the heartstrings. A younger child may not know what it means yet to have a sponsor, but her parents sure do. There are several young children who have been waiting for sponsors with Manna 4 Lempira for awhile. Think of how much it would mean to their parents to know that their child has a sponsor!

Velery is 3 and lives in the Mercedes community of Lempira, Honduras.

“I am Velery’s mama. My daughter still does not have a sponsor, but with faith, I am praying to my God that she finds someone. She is three years old. She likes to play, to pray, and to sing Christian hymns. With much love”

It makes me so happy to think that now Velery and her parents know that she’s sponsored.